


Hokkaido Ramen

by SamCyberCat



Series: Zombie Diet [10]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Character Death, Dark, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 04:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: After the outbreak, Asahi, Hiyori, Ikuya and Nao flee to Hokkaido, hoping that the cold will bring them safety from the zombies. But not all of them will make it to the end of this journey. Trail Mix bonus story.





	Hokkaido Ramen

**Author's Note:**

> A stand-alone bonus story set in the Trail Mix universe! This story is set soon after the zombie outbreak and is completely separate from the main series, so you don't have to be following Trail Mix to enjoy this one and vice versa. If you've been following me recently, then you probably know that I love Asahi, Ikuya and Hiyori, but it felt too late into the main Trail Mix fics to incorporate too many of the s3 characters. So I decided to give these guys their own spin-off, with this one-shot providing a look into what they've been doing in this universe.
> 
> Also, as a head's up – even though HiyoIku is listed as the ship for this fic, I'll say now that this isn't a pleasant or fluffy look at their relationship. I'm sure I'll write something cheerful for them in future, but this fic definitely isn't it.
> 
> So with that warning out of the way, I hope you all enjoy this zombie apocalypse tragedy!

The car pulled to a stop outside a service station and Hiyori got out. Ikuya went with him, because of course he did, but not a word passed between any of them as they left. All things considered, Ikuya was holding up better than anyone could've expected. Definitely better than Nao was holding up.

Asahi stayed in the car, because someone had to watch over Nao. The service station would be fruitless, as the last five or six had been, but if they gave up hope now, it'd mean accepting that they were done for. He listened as Hiyori and Ikuya's footsteps crunched away through the snow, before turning to look back at Nao. It was a sorry sight... He was curled up against himself, staring at nothing, but probably seeing too much in his own mind.

“Let's hope we find gas here,” Asahi said, “Not sure how much further we'll get if we don't.”

But Nao didn't answer. He'd said only a single word since they'd left Natsuya back in Sano:

“Hokkaido.”

That had been Nao's suggestion. When Asahi, Hiyori and Ikuya were frantically discussing where they could go to escape from this horrific outbreak. Perhaps it'd be too cold there for the zombies, especially with winter fast approaching. They wouldn't know until they got there, but it was the only thing they had to go on. It certainly wasn't safe anywhere else.

Nao might've saved their lives, but it seemed that he couldn't save his own. He'd always been so strong, so together, for as long as Asahi had known him. Nao was the stable one between Nao and Natsuya. But without Natsuya, Nao had crumbled.

No one deserved to watch that happen to a loved one...

Before Asahi could struggle to find anything else to say to Nao, he heard quick footsteps come back through the snow. The back passenger door was opened and Ikuya stared down at Asahi, seeming more optimistic than he had done for a long time.

“We've found some! There's still gas left in the pumps here,” he said.

“It's about time,” Asahi cheered, getting up from his seat. Before he left, he turned back to Nao and said, “We won't be long, okay? Just wait here.”

The door was closed, leaving Nao at least some protection from the cold as Ikuya and Asahi walked away. Asahi could tell there was something Ikuya wanted to say and, sure enough, before they reached where Hiyori was waiting, Ikuya spoke up.

“He's not doing well at all. Do you think he'll ever get better...?” Ikuya asked.

“Hard to say. He must want to survive, since he's come with us, but then that might just be because we dragged him along. Natsuya was his whole world and now he's gone...” said Asahi, “But Natsuya was your brother, Ikuya. I should be asking how you're holding up.”

“As well as I can do,” Ikuya said, “I know that he'd want us to make it through this and that's what keeps me going. He wouldn't want to see Nao suffer like this.”

But they didn't have time to say anything more, because they'd reached Hiyori and the impatience on his face suggested that he didn't want to wait around. As much as Asahi was wary of Hiyori, in this case, he didn't disagree with him. Being out in the open for so long was risky and even without the fear of zombies, there was the possibility that others would arrive to take the fuel. Given that this was the first place they'd found that had any left, everyone was after it.

“There's no power, but we should be able to get into the canisters without too much trouble,” Hiyori said, “We can fill up as much as we need now and then put the rest in the boot for later. We might not get this lucky again.”

This was easier said than done. The canisters were heavy. Between the three of them, they just managed to lift them and carry them to the car, but it was slow going. By the time they were done, Asahi pulled away to wipe his brow.

“That's as much as we can take with us. Hopefully it'll last the whole trip,” he said.

But when he looked back at Ikuya, he saw Ikuya's eyes were on the gas station itself. The building was dark and seemingly empty, but after they'd got lucky with the gas, perhaps it would show promise as well.

“Do you think...?” Ikuya said.

“Got to be worth a check,” said Asahi, “We need food as well.”

“We should bring Nao with us if it's safe,” said Ikuya, “It's not good for him to be cooped up the car the whole while. Besides, when was the last time he ate?”

None of them had been keeping tabs on that, but Asahi was willing to bet that it hadn't been for a long time. Assuming that Ikuya and Hiyori would go on ahead, Asahi went back to the car and opened the door. Nao was still exactly where he'd been when they'd left him.

“There might be food in the station. Come on, let's go check it out.”

Nao wasn't the most willing, but he didn't object to Asahi hoisting him up and walking him to the gas station. The door was open and they could hear Ikuya and Hiyori talking inside, so Asahi assumed it was safe. The gas station itself was dark, nowhere had power any more, and the fresh food had long since gone bad. But fortunately there was a good selection of ambient food in the shop side of the station – tinned goods, biscuits, packets of crackers and the likes. The vending machine outside could easily be smashed open to get drinks, as well. It was a good haul.

“Looks like we're eating like kings tonight,” said Asahi.

Hiyori sneered; “You must have a poor idea of royalty, but I guess it'll do.”

They sat on the floor together, eating the packet food in silence. At least, three of them were. When Asahi looked at Nao, he saw that Nao wasn't touching anything.

“You have to eat...” he said, “Natsuya wouldn't want you to give u-”

Before he could finish, Nao cut him off by getting to his feet and walking away. That was... probably an insensitive thing to say.

“Just leave him to sulk, he'll eat when he gets hungry enough,” said Hiyori, “We'll be taking some of this with us, so it's not as if this is his last chance.”

“He's not sulking, he's heartbroken,” said Ikuya, speaking out against Hiyori for once, “How would you feel if... well, if it was me who'd been taken by the zombies?”

Hiyori reached across to put a hand on Ikuya's arm; “I'd never let that happen to you.”

Hearing that made Asahi look away. Something about Hiyori's single-minded devotion to Ikuya made him uncomfortable. But perhaps he was just jealous. Hiyori was the one who Ikuya had chosen to be with and Asahi had to respect of that.

He wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't make this awkward, so he was a little thankful that a noise from the back room distracted them all.

“Nao, is that you?”

There was no response. After exchanging worried glances, the three of them got to their feet and cautiously approached the door. On the other side they saw...

“Oh god, nooo!” Ikuya cried, bringing his hand up to his mouth.

“Don't worry, Nao, I'm coming for you!” yelled Asahi.

Nao was on the other side of the room, blood spouting out of his shoulder from where the lone zombie had bitten him. The zombie was dressed in the gas station's uniform and had clearly been here since the infection had broken out, waiting dormant until a victim came along. The worst part was, Nao wasn't fighting back. Asahi didn't want to think like this, but how did they know that Nao hadn't willingly gone up to the zombie? Perhaps Nao had... given up.

When Asahi made to charge forward, Hiyori grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Don't be a fool! It's already too late for him!”

“We can't just give up on Nao!”

“...Leave me...”

He truly had given up, hadn't he? Nao was looking back at them, but in his eyes, there was nothing. This would be the end for him. Left to be infected in some gas station in the middle of nowhere, unable to carry on without Natsuya with him.

“We'll live because of you!” Ikuya called across, “Please... know that you saved our lives by telling us to go to Hokkaido!”

But Nao said nothing more.

The zombie finished on him and turned to them. They couldn't waste any more time after that. Next to him, Asahi saw Hiyori grab Ikuya's arm to pull him away. Asahi had to leave as well. He took one final look at Nao. There was so much he wanted to say to the man who'd been like a mentor to him, but there wasn't any time left to say it. Perhaps there hadn't truly been any time left to say anything since they'd left Sano.

“I'm sorry, Nao...”

With that, Asahi left. They grabbed what food they could from the store front and headed out of the gas station, climbing back into the car before the zombie could follow them. One good thing about zombies was that they were generally slow. As soon as they were all inside the car, Hiyori started up the engine and they were off.

“We left him to die...” Ikuya whispered.

“He left himself to die long ago,” said Hiyori, “We're only lucky he didn't pull that stunt at a time when the rest of us were at risk.”

“Don't talk about him like that!” Asahi snapped.

“It's the truth, isn't it?”

Even if that was the case, Hiyori didn't have to say it so harshly. Asahi glared at the back of his seat. None of them spoke again for the rest of the day.

***

The gas lasted them long into the journey. They weren't sure exactly where they'd be stopping, but it'd be nice to think that they'd still have some gas left over when they got there. That way they'd be able to use the car for sometime.

The food, however, did not see them all the way to their final destination. Because they'd only been able to grab a handful each on their way out of the gas station. Despite their careful rationing, it eventually ran out.

But Asahi told himself that they'd have to get used to this. If they planned on living out here somewhere, then they couldn't rely on finding leftovers from before the outbreak forever. Soon enough, those supplies would run out, particularly with everyone who'd survived going after shops and warehouses. If the three of them were to make any progress out here, then they were going to have to hunt.

Which was what they were doing today. Asahi and Ikuya's feet crunched through the morning snow, making so much noise that it'd probably scare away any local wildlife anyway. Hiyori had stayed with the car, though Asahi could tell he wasn't happy about that. On some level, Asahi understood Hiyori wanting to stick by Ikuya at all times, but it also wasn't fair to expect Asahi to always be the one to guard the car. So today, Asahi had insisted on being the one to head out to look for food and Ikuya had gone with him.

That was why he kept his mouth shut as he scanned the hills. He had to come back with something or else Hiyori would use it as an excuse to stop him from heading out again. Asahi had never imagined there'd be pressure on to prove himself as a hunter, but here he was.

There were brambles at the bottom of the hills and Asahi knew just enough about nature to realise that would be a good place for a burrowing animal to make its home. He turned and nodded to Ikuya. The two of them quietly made their way across.

The bushes were covered in a heavy layer of snow, but Asahi could see the thorns poking out at the bottom. He reached out a gloved hand to grab one of the longer branches to pull it back, letting the snow fall away to reveal-

“Holy shit!”

A zombie.

Asahi dropped the branch, sending snow flying. The two of them scrambled backwards, staring at the bush where they'd been caught off-guard.

But then... the zombie didn't follow?

They stayed like that for several minutes, staring at the bush. But there was no movement at all. This could've been a trap, but if zombies were smart enough to do something like that, then Asahi had yet to see it. The two of them could've just left now, but Asahi found that he couldn't tear his eyes away, not with this potential risk.

“I'll... go have a look,” he whispered, “If something goes wrong, head back to the car.”

Not that he needed to tell Ikuya that. After what happened to Nao, they all knew that in the worst scenarios, they had to leave those who'd been bitten and prioritise their own safety.

“Be careful...” Ikuya said.

Asahi crept towards the bush again. He tried so hard to stay quiet, but his heart was pounding fast and he could see his breath forming in front of his face with how cold he was. He grabbed the branch again, pulling it back to reveal the zombie, dressed in hiking gear and covered in snow.

It wasn't moving at all. Its eyes were fixed on Asahi, but there was nothing behind that gaze at all. When he reached out to touch it, the zombie felt brittle. It fell aside, further into the bushes and just lay where it landed.

“It's frozen...” Asahi realised, then he turned to call back to Ikuya, “Nao was right! The zombies here are frozen solid! We're going to be safe!”

He was so loud that several birds took off overhead, but right now Asahi couldn't care less. Hiyori could make him car-sit at every stop on the way, for all he cared. They'd made the right choice by coming to the north and that was the best news Asahi had gotten since before the outbreak.

***

Hokkaido was big enough that they could afford to be picky about where they stayed. On one hand, it might've been a good idea to join up with other groups, to bring safety in numbers. But Hiyori was distrustful (surprise, surprise...), so he'd insisted on pressing on until they could find a place to call their own.

Even with the advantage of the cold keeping the zombies out of action for the winter, the infection had still broke out here, just like everywhere in Japan. So many places they'd been to were overrun. But there was still signs of survivors living in many of the towns.

After a bit more than a week of searching, the three of them found a village that was occupied only by the frosted corpses of the zombies. This seemed to satisfy Hiyori.

“We'll burn them,” he announced, “I know they're safe for the moment, but we don't know if they'll thaw out again in the summer.”

Asahi couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“You're talking about them like they're frozen meat, but these are people! We should have respect for the dead,” he argued.

Hiyori shook his head; “We'll be the ones who'll be dead if we're not careful. I understand the sentiment, but we need to think rationally about this.”

“That's just heartless...” Asahi growled.

Before the argument could escalate, Ikuya stepped between them. And looking at him right now, Asahi realised exactly how tired Ikuya seemed. He knew that Hiyori could see that as well. It had been a long journey and Ikuya had lost more than any of them. It wasn't fair that he kept having to step in between Asahi and Hiyori's arguments. But then... Hiyori was always so unreasonable!

“We can have a funeral first to show our respects,” Ikuya said, “And then afterwards we can burn the bodies as part of the ceremony. It's not ideal, but there's too much risk that they'll come back if we just bury them.”

“I'm not sure what we can say in a funeral for people we never met, but if it makes you feel better,” said Hiyori.

“It will make me feel better,” Asahi insisted.

With that decision made, they scoured the town, gathering up as many bodies as they could find. The three of them were thorough in their search, since the last thing they wanted was to miss any zombies now and suffer for it later. As he looked, Asahi found traces in the houses of who all of these people had been. Perhaps they were having a funeral for strangers, but Asahi felt better for knowing even a little about them.

If they were going to stay in this village, then there was a chance he'd learn a lot about them in the months that followed, even if it was after the fact.

“This girl had just been accepted into college,” Asahi said to Ikuya, as he placed her body on the pile, “There was an acceptance letter on the table in her house. I bet it had been a happy day for her family...”

“Up until it wasn't...” Ikuya agreed, “But hopefully they all turned before they knew what was happening. A lot of people just drank the water and it was already too late.”

“Sounds like a blissful way to go,” said Asahi.

Looking at it like that, he didn't feel so bad for the people who'd turned at the beginning. All the same, Asahi was glad that he'd survived. He didn't want to waste that.

“Do you think... that was what happened to Natsuya?” Ikuya asked.

Sadly, Asahi knew the answer to that question. He'd gotten a text from Natsuya on the day, saying he'd gone to a club in Sano for a few early drinks, but the people in the club were acting strangely. At the time, Asahi was trying to stop Kon from biting Akane and Tsukushi... Failing to stop Kon from doing that. By the time he got to the club Natsuya had been at, it was already too late.

He hated lying to Ikuya, but there were some things that Ikuya just didn't need to know.

“Maybe. You never know,” Asahi said, “He turned right at the start, so it seems likely.”

“I hope so...” mumbled Ikuya.

For once, Asahi was glad of Hiyori's interruption. Hiyori strode across, slinging a smaller body onto the pile and standing back.

“We're making progress here. Soon we'll have all of them,” he said.

“Then we can start the funeral,” Asahi reminded.

“Before burning them for our safety. I know,” said Hiyori, “Let's just hurry this up.”

Once they'd pulled all the bodies they could find out into the open, the funeral began. They were actually lucky that the village had long since lost power, since in the early days, Asahi imagined these zombies would still be walking around. But with the heating gone, the cold had eventually caught up with them and now they were as frozen as the rest. Asahi, Ikuya and Hiyori would have to take care that didn't happen to them over the next few months. At least this awful fire would be good for one thing...

Asahi said a few words and Ikuya listened attentively, while Hiyori looked bored. Even though Asahi hadn't been to many funerals before, he tried his best to talk respectfully and ended by thanking these people for letting them stay in this village, so they might live on. Not that the villagers had a choice in that.

...And then they burned them. It was difficult to watch, but out of respect, Asahi did. The fire would last for a long time, probably into the evening. Hopefully it wouldn't draw too much unwanted attention to them, but they'd deal with that if and when it happened.

When Asahi glanced to the side, he saw the yellow flames reflected in Hiyori's glasses.

“This village is ours now...” Hiyori whispered, almost gleefully.

***

Today marked the first time the three of them had gone hunting together since they'd arrived at the village. Asahi hoped it meant that Hiyori's paranoia about losing the place was slipping.

They hadn't seen anyone else since they'd arrived. The village was too far out in the middle of nowhere and not close enough to any ports that people would come here, since most people would probably choose to live off fishing to survive. After so long of eating rabbits, foxes and other local wildlife, Asahi wouldn't object to seafood, but moving to another place wasn't worth the risk of competition. They had it good here.

First light and early evening were the best times for hunting. Ikuya had already brought back an impressive haul in the morning, but they needed to keep their supplies up during the winter, so now they were heading out again before it got dark.

They walked together for a while, but when none of them found anything, they agreed to split up.

“We'll meet back here when we're done,” said Asahi.

With that, they went their separate ways. Even Ikuya and Hiyori didn't stick together. As much as Hiyori liked to keep an eye on him, Ikuya had proven himself to be the best hunter of the three of them, so there was no need.

Asahi went off down a promising path by some trees, creeping along the familiar patches of ground where the snow didn't lie. He was quiet as a mouse and his efforts paid him off when he shot down a fat bird.

After he'd slung the bird over his shoulder, he stayed a while longer, but the noise of the first arrow saw to it that he didn't find anything else. All the same, he was satisfied. Once it got too dark, he made his way back to the spot where they'd agreed to meet up.

As he approached, Asahi could make out some shadows against the amber sunset. At first it wasn't worried, assuming that it was just Ikuya and Hiyori. But then as he got closer, he saw Hiyori come out from the woods. They turned to look at each other and both of them were thinking the same thing – someone else was there.

Asahi picked up the pace, wanting to find out what was going on as soon as possible. Once he got close enough to be able to make the figures out, he was relieved to see that one of them was Ikuya... but the other was not.

“Asahi, Hiyori, good to see you're back,” Ikuya called, “You'll never believe what happened – I was out by the road and I found Jun here. He got separated from his group and he's came all this way on his own.”

“Did he really?” Hiyori asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yeah, I've been travelling for so long,” said the man called Jun, “It was so kind of Ikuya here to let me stay at your village.”

“We haven't agreed to that,” Hiyori said.

“Come on, Hiyori. We can't just send away a person in need. Not when we have so much,” Ikuya reasoned, “That's not what Natsuya and Nao would've wanted us to do.”

“I think they'd have wanted us to stay safe,” said Asahi, hardly believing that he was siding with Hiyori.

Jun threw his hands into the air; “It's fine, I understand your caution. It can be dangerous to let an outsider in, especially when you've got it so good here. If you just let me stay the night, I'll be gone in the morning. And I'd be thankful for any food you can spare.”

“It's winter. We don't have food to spare,” said Hiyori, ignoring the bird dangling over Asahi's shoulder and the two rabbits attached to Ikuya's belt; “But you can stay the night. Just know that we'll have our eyes on you.”

“I promise you that you've got nothing to worry about,” said Jun.

“Jun, I'm sorry about him. Usually he's a lot more understanding than this,” Ikuya stated, walking ahead and letting Jun follow, “You can eat with us tonight and then I'm sure that we'll find something for you to take with you tomorrow.”

Hiyori and Asahi both hung back as Ikuya walked away. Both of them were thinking the same thing, but Hiyori was the one harsh enough to put it into words.

“I love Ikuya, but he's too kind for his own good,” Hiyori quietly said.

“That's why we're here to protect him,” assured Asahi, “We'll keep watch over this guy.”

For the rest of the evening, they kept their eyes on Jun like a couple of hawks as they ate and drank together. But he didn't do anything untoward. Perhaps his story about travelling alone was true after all. The four of them sat together around the fire in one larger houses and Jun shared tales of his travels across Japan long into the morning.

Despite himself, Asahi couldn't help asking questions.

“Did you pass through Tottori at all? There's a couple of small towns there, Iwatobi and Sano, I was wondering if you knew anything about them?”

“I think I know the places... But it was just the same story everywhere – very few survivors and those who they find alive, they're trying to take out of Japan,” Jun explained, “I've come across these guys loads of times, claiming to take people to some place called the compound. But I don't trust them.”

Ikuya looked thoughtful; “If they came here, do you think we'd go with them?”

“No,” Hiyori answered, flatly.

“Why would you want to? You have such a good thing going here,” said Jun, “If my old group could've seen all these empty houses and supplies, they'd have thanked their lucky stars. And you're in such a remote area that you can see people coming from miles around.”

“We didn't see you coming,” Hiyori pointed out.

“Ikuya did. And I wasn't trying to hide, if that's what you mean.”

Any time that Hiyori tried to throw an accusation in Jun's direction it was met with the same result. Asahi felt like he was more on Hiyori's side about this, but nothing about Jun seemed suspicious and as they got into the early hours of the morning, Asahi could barely keep his eyes open. His head nodded and before he knew what was happening, Ikuya shook him awake.

“We should all get a couple of hours if we want to be up for hunting by first light,” Ikuya said, “After that, we can see Jun off.”

He seemed disappointed, almost as if he wanted Jun to stay. But Jun himself was insistent that he was just passing through, so that was the end of it.

Without any further objections, Asahi heavily got to his feet and took himself to bed. He was asleep the moment his head hit the pillows...

***

“Wake up! Wake up now, you idiot!”

With a loud snort, Asahi jerked himself awake to find he was being shaken by... Hiyori?

“Whassat! What's happenin'?” Asahi muttered, jumping to his feet.

“They're gone! Ikuya and Jun are both gone!”

That was all Asahi needed to hear. The two of them hurried out of the house. There weren't any signs of a struggle, but that didn't mean anything. Ikuya had seemed very taken with Jun, to the point that he might've dropped his guard around him.

The sun hung low in the sky – it was already past hunting time.

“I can't believe we both slept right through it... That bastard kept us up with his talking,” Hiyori growled.

“We don't know that he's done anything else,” said Asahi.

But even as he spoke those words, he didn't believe them. Asahi tried to see the good in everyone and Jun hadn't done anything wrong, but it wasn't like Ikuya to disappear without saying a word to Hiyori. Everything about Jun had been too convenient and Asahi had just been too tired to pick up on that last night. It turned out that Hiyori had been as well.

The village was completely silent, so the two of them headed out on the road that came in through the front. A short way out onto the road, they came across Ikuya's bow lying on the roadside, as if it had been tossed away.

“He'd never leave that...”

The sight all but confirmed their suspicions that something had happened. Hiyori picked up the bow and the two of them headed on.

...And sure enough, a little way off the beaten track into the forest, they found them. But it was more than just Ikuya and Jun.

“This village is the best one we've come across in miles and it's just these naïve kids looking after it. The other two don't trust me, but if we come back with a bigger group, we can easily take them.”

“You won't be coming back with anyone!” Asahi called, blowing their cover.

He just couldn't help himself. Seeing Ikuya tied up by someone he'd trusted boiled Asahi's blood. Jun had lied to them – he was a scout and now he'd come back with a caravan that was being led by another stranger.

“Oh wow, I was sure you two would sleep long into the afternoon after what I slipped into your drinks last night,” Jun sneered, turning to face them without a trace of fear, “It was such a shame that Ikuya had to catch me when I was coming back to finish you off. But he's so pretty, I'm sure we'll get a good price for hi-”

Jun didn't get to finish that sentence.

An arrow impacted clear into the middle of his forehead, having been fired by Hiyori from Ikuya's own bow. Jun's eyes glazed and he fell to the ground. The woman in the caravan reached for the reigns, clearly wanting to make a run for it. But Hiyori didn't give her the chance.

“Hiyori, noo!” Ikuya cried.

He was ignored. The first arrow gashed the side of the caravan. The second grazed the side of the woman's head. She wobbled to the side and once that happened, Hiyori had her. The third arrow finished her off. The horse bolted, her dead body slumping against the caravan as it ran away. But the horse wouldn't get too far – if they wanted it, they could go after it later.

As soon as the threat was gone, it was like the spell over Hiyori was broken. He raced across to Ikuya, embracing him in trembling arms.

“Ikuya...! Are you all right?”

“You killed them...”

“They were going to take you! To sell you to slave traders or something like that. I couldn't let them hurt you, Ikuya...”

Ikuya pushed Hiyori off him, staring in disgust.

“They weren't zombies! They were living people and you ended their lives without a second thought!”

He reached forward to take his bow out of Hiyori's grip. Then he turned on his heels and made his way back towards the village, leaving Hiyori dumbfounded.

“I saved your life...” Hiyori whimpered.

But Ikuya was gone. Asahi watched the whole scene play out and then stepped forward to stand with Hiyori.

“We could go get the horse if we're quick,” he offered, trying to soothe the tension slightly, “I bet those two had supplies in the caravan as well.”

Besides, it might give Ikuya time to cool off. It can't have been nice for Ikuya to see his boyfriend kill two people, but without Hiyori's fast actions, all of them could've ended up dead. There wasn't time for doubt in this new world.

They turned away from the route back to the village, hurrying after the horse. Before long, they found the caravan wedged between two trees, with the horse going frantic trying to get loose. The body of the woman who'd been with Jun had fallen off and was lying crumpled on the uneven ground, blood dripping out of her head.

The two of them ran to the horse, Asahi trying to calm it, while Hiyori detached it from the harness.

“Easy there... You're safe now... Settle down...” Asahi said, stroking the side of the horse's head.

Through some miracle, it – no, she – didn't bolt. After a few moments of kicking around, the horse settled under Asahi's contact. Well, at least someone liked him.

“There we go,” said Asahi, “Why don't you come back with us? I'm sure we could sort out somewhere for you to stay.”

There wasn't a stable in the village, but one of the old garages could be converted into one. Asahi looked back at Hiyori, who was standing watching him.

“Do you want to check the caravan?” Asahi asked.

“You're good at that,” Hiyori said, without moving, “Good at surviving. You didn't trust Jun either, I could tell.”

“Yeah, but I'll never be as good at hunting as Ikuya is,” Asahi reasoned.

“He's so weak...” said Hiyori, almost as if he hadn't heard Asahi, “I want to protect him, but what if he wanders into another trap...?”

“That's why we'll be here to protect him.”

“Yes... of course.”

With that, Hiyori disappeared into the caravan to look for supplies. All the same, Asahi didn't like how that conversation had gone. Something snapped in Hiyori that day and Asahi wasn't sure if he'd recover from it.

***

Jun had mentioned that there were other people. Why had no one picked up on that? It wasn't merely himself and the woman he'd came with, but others waiting to hear back from them. It was impossible to say how many there were. All that could be said for sure was that they'd notice when Jun didn't return and then they might head out to find him.

They'd come to the village and there might be so many of them. It wasn't safe here any more.

The one good thing to have come from all of this was the horse. She seemed to placate Ikuya's anger and as soon as he'd seen her, he'd given her the nickname 'Satomi'. Neither Hiyori nor Asahi had objected. Whatever helped Ikuya find comfort in these bleak times was important.

But Ikuya did not forgive so quickly... not when Hiyori had killed. It would take him time to recover and that was time they didn't have.

They had to leave the village.

The car was their best bet. They'd been using the gas to help with their fires, but there was still enough left to put some distance between themselves and the village. The only disadvantage would be that they'd have to leave Satomi behind and once the gas ran out, they could've done with her to travel the rest of the journey.

So the real question was, did they take the car to have a small advantage now, but a disadvantage later or did they take the horse and leave slower, but have a constant source of transport?

Satomi would need food as well. So many questions that needed answers...

...Although it seemed as if someone else wanted to take away one of their answers. Of course he did, he'd proven himself to be smart. But as he jolted up from where he'd been checking the engine, he couldn't hide his guilt. He was going to run.

“I think we'll have enough fuel to make it to the coast. Then we can think about joining up with one of the fishing towns and blending in there. What do you say?”

One of the fishing towns that could've sent Jun out to scout for them. Why did no one else think? Both of his companions were so naïve. Jun had been right about that.

_But he had to protect Ikuya._

***

By sundown, Satomi was saddled up, her bags carrying as many supplies as they could take. It was a shame that they couldn't use the caravan, but it had been badly damaged in the crash and would take too long to repair. They'd already wasted a few days since the incident. They would not waste more time.

Ikuya approached cautiously, speaking to him for the first time since what happened to Jun.

“So we're leaving then?”

“We have to. This place has been good to us, but it'll be crawling with Jun's friends before long and I don't want you to be taken by... by slave-traders or anyone else. There'll be other villages, other places to stay.”

A small nod from Ikuya. The explanation had been accepted. But then the inevitable question followed.

“...Where's Asahi...?”

Of course he would ask that. Ikuya had always been fond of Asahi and perhaps... that was something that should've been nipped in the bud earlier on, but it didn't matter now.

“He took the car and left on his own... I followed him on foot, but you know how treacherous these icy roads can be. By the time I found him, it was already too late. Perhaps his nerves had caused him to drive recklessly and he'd crashed... I'm so sorry, Ikuya...”

Hiyori wasn't sure if Ikuya would believe him or not. When Hiyori turned to face him, he saw the doubt in Ikuya's eyes. And then... he saw Ikuya's eyes harden. The lie had failed.

And yet... Ikuya mounted the horse. At first Hiyori thought that Ikuya was going to ride off without him and he wouldn't blame him if he had done. But instead, Ikuya offered a hand out to him, his face as hard as stone.

“Get on,” Ikuya said.

“You're not... leaving me?”

“I'd be a fool to leave the man who'd do anything to keep me alive,” Ikuya said, “Hiyori, today I hate you. But if I live even a few days longer because of your protection, then we can both deal with me hating you for as long as I need.”

That wasn't something that Hiyori ever thought that he'd hear from Ikuya. Perhaps Hiyori hadn't been the only one who'd snapped over what happened with Jun.

He took Ikuya's hand and climbed up onto the horse, letting Ikuya take the reigns to lead them out of the village. Ikuya didn't ask where Asahi's body really was and Hiyori would never tell him the answer. But that didn't matter, because the two of them would live together another day.

Finally all alone. Finally safe from their pursuers.


End file.
